WA’S LACK OF A PLAN STUNTING GROWTH

The consequences of Western Australia’s failure to adequately plan for infrastructure is laid out clearly in a landmark national report into Australia’s urgent infrastructure needs.

The Infrastructure Australia Plan report found the delivery of infrastructure lacked integration of planning, delivery and operation, particularly in high growth areas like Perth.

“In WA the infrastructure situation is particularly bad because we do not have a long-tern infrastructure plan that businesses like developers can use to plan their future investments,” said Joe Lenzo, Property Council Executive Director.

“The report is a wake-up call to WA policy makers that we need a pipeline of planned infrastructure projects and we need to better align planning and infrastructure.

“WA needs an independent body that advises the State Government on its future infrastructure needs and can advocate nationally for the state’s fair share of the national infrastructure funding pool.

“WA is the only state or territory that doesn’t have an infrastructure body and the lack of one will hurt our chances to keep the state growing after the mining boom.”

The report reflects the findings of the Property Council’s own report Mind the Gap: The Costs of WA’s Infrastructure Provisioning Framework, which found poor infrastructure provisioning was adding unnecessary risk to property development.